Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - With at least a share of the Big Ten title and the league's automatic berth in the BCS on the line, the 15th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes and 10th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will do battle in Columbus on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes suffered their first loss of the season last weekend against Northwestern (17-10), while the Buckeyes defeated Penn State (24-7) to set up this week's first-place showdown.

Iowa had been off to its best start ever (9-0) until last week's loss, and coach Kirk Ferentz knows that while his team has enjoyed a tremendous season already, none of it would be possible without the support of the UI faithful. "I heard them clapping and cheering when we were coming off the field. They've been great. I appreciate them recognizing the efforts of our players."

The setback also snapped Iowa's 13-game winning streak -- the program's longest since winning 20 straight from 1920-23.

Ohio State faced its stiffest challenge of the conference slate so far last week in Happy Valley, and stood tall against an outstanding Nittany Lion team to claim its eighth win of the season. With the victory, OSU improved to 35-13 in games against ranked foes under coach Jim Tressel. A win in this bout will give the Buckeyes at least a share of their fifth straight Big Ten title.

Since suffering its second loss of the season (26-18 to Purdue on October 17th), OSU has been a team on a mission, outscoring its last three opponents by a 107-14 margin.

Ohio State owns a commanding 44-14-3 lead in the all-time series with Iowa, which includes a 27-8-1 mark in Columbus. The Buckeyes have won 10 of the last 11 meetings dating back to 1992, and the last game between the two took place in Iowa City in 2006 with OSU prevailing in a 38-17 final.

Iowa's offense isn't as explosive as some others in the Big Ten, averaging just 24.1 ppg to rank in a ninth-place tie with Indiana. The unit's strength is its ability to stretch the field with the pass (230.6 ypg), and while QB Ricky Stanzi's TD-to-INT ratio sits at 15-to-14, he had guided his team to a 9-0 start. As for the UI run game, it had boasted a solid one-two punch with Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher combining for 1,131 yards and 11 TDs. Robinson's 78.6 ypg ranks fourth-best in the conference, but he suffered an ankle injury a few weeks ago and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

The Hawkeyes committed four turnovers and subsequently lost for the first time in more than a year, falling at home to Northwestern last Saturday, 17-10. Iowa not only lost the game, but Stanzi was knocked out with an ankle injury. His replacement, James Vandenberg, was ineffective in completing just 9-of-27 passes for 82 yards with an INT. Brandon Wegher led the UI ground attack with 63 yards, while Marvin McNutt and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos combined for 154 receiving yards and a TD.

Stanzi had surgery earlier this week, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season. If his rehab goes well he could be back in time for the Hawkeyes' bowl game. Ferentz spoke about his junior signal-caller, "Stanzi had surgery and everything went well." The coach continued, "He's disappointed. But other than that, he's doing fine."

Johnson-Koulianos ranks ninth in the Big Ten in receiving ypg (61.4), but he has just two TD catches in the nine games he has appeared. McNutt, the team's big-play receiver with an average of 23.8 ypr, has scored a TD in three straight games and he has a team-high five TD grabs this season.

Ferentz hopes his team can turn the page quickly as it looks ahead to this matchup with the Buckeyes. "We'll get things cleaned up and move on quickly. This doesn't end the season by any count. My guess is we'll see a great effort next week (at Ohio State)."

The Wildcats managed just 239 yards of total offense last week against Iowa, but took full advantage of the opportunities the Hawkeyes gave them and scored the game's final 17 points to knock Iowa from the ranks of the unbeaten. Northwestern only scored one offensive TD, finishing with just 109 passing yards despite converting half of its 18 third-down tries.

Iowa LB Pat Angerer did his best to keep the Hawkeyes' perfect record in tact as he logged a career-high 17 tackles, and Jeremiha Hunter also finished in double digits with 10 stops. Angerer has been the Hawkeyes' most active defender this season, logging 106 tackles, while Hunter is next in line with 80. Tyler Sash leads the Big Ten in INTs with six and he ranks third on the team in total stops with 70.

Iowa allows just 15.9 ppg, with foes averaging 118.7 ypg on the ground and 173.0 ypg through the air. The Hawkeyes have permitted just five rushing TDs and only half of the opposition's visits to the red zone have resulted in TDs.

The Buckeyes scored just a few minutes into their key conference clash with Penn State, and then the defense took over in what turned out to be a 17-point victory on the road. Terrelle Pryor threw for two TDs and ran for another, while DeVier Posey had just two catches, although one went for 62 yards and a TD.

So far this season, Pryor has completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,668 yards with 15 TDs and nine INTs. Posey is the team's leading receiver with 45 grabs for 672 yards and seven TDs. Dane Sanzenbacher has six TD catches and he averages better than 20 ypr. Pryor is the also the team's leading rusher with 604 yards and he has scored seven times on the ground. Dan Herron has six rushing TDs and the team as a whole averages better than 190 ypg via the run.

The OSU defense held the Nittany Lions to nine first downs and just 76 net rushing yards last week. The Buckeyes haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in the last 20 games -- the second-longest streak in the nation behind Alabama (27 games). A total of three Ohio State defensive players were credited with double-digit tackles on the afternoon, as Cameron Heyward, Brian Rolle and Ross Homan combined for 31 stops, with Heyward logging a pair of sacks.

The Buckeyes are giving up just 11.2 ppg (second-lowest in the league), with foes averaging a mere 85.4 ypg rushing (lowest yield in the Big Ten) and another 168.7 ypg passing (second-lowest). They have allowed a total of 13 TDs in 10 games and have been credited with 27 sacks and 25 turnovers. Rolle is the club's leading tackler with 78, while Homan is hot on his heels with 76. Homan and Kurt Coleman have three picks apiece, and Heyward has a club-best five sacks.

Coach Tressel was asked this week whether his team might be a bit distracted with all that's going right now (Coming off the big win at Penn State, Iowa coming to town this week, bitter rival Michigan up next, the Big Ten title chase, possible BCS berth), "Either that or it's a good week to get focused." He continued, "The fact is, the seniors are playing their last ball game here and their last two in their whole career, regular season-wise, you know, so to me it's maybe even less distracting than sometimes when there's more time out there, there's more mind wandering."